We all stared at the
gorgeously dressed woman
who obviously has had a
taste of luxury. She reeked
of wealth from head to toe.
She looked vaguely familiar
in a strange way but I could
not remember ever seeing
her. I wondered where I
must have seen her but
nothing came to mind.
I
stared at Richard who was
busy glaring at the visitor
clenching his fists like
someone in a boxing
competition. Why he was so
angry was lost on me, he
had never been this furious.
No one uttered a word and
I stood there not knowing
what exactly was amiss.
“I asked you a question.
What the hell are you doing
here?” Richard growled
with his fists clenched.
I grabbed his hand to calm
him down a bit. “Calm
down honey and show the
woman some respect
please. Who is she?” I asked
quietly but he did not
answer. He did not have to
anyways. He was only this
angry whenever he talked
about one person. I looked
the woman and got my
confirmation – the blue
eyes could not be mistaken.
Those piercing blue eyes
which could do a lot of
things by just staring were
exactly the same as
Richard’s. I looked from
Richard to the woman and
back noticing the striking
resemblance.
“Richy, is this your
mother?” I asked quietly.
Richard’s hand immediately
left mine as he turned his
glare towards me. “She is
not MY mother” he said
stressing the ‘my’.
I got my confirmation in
that statement.
The subject
matter just stood there
speechless and could have
been mistaken for a deaf
and dumb.
Richard looked at his father
knowing that this was his
doing. “I don’t know what
she is doing here and I
don’t want to know but one
thing I know is that I don’t
wanna see her here when I
get back”, he said and
stormed out of the sitting
room towards the masters’
bedroom.
The entire room was as
though no one was inside
as no one made a single
sound. I don’t know why I
did not stop Richard from
leaving the room but I
guess my professional
instinct made me realize
that he needed a little time
to himself. I felt his pain and
knew just what he must be
feeling as I had felt that way
too. I raised my eyes to
stare at my newly found
mother-in-law but she
seemed to be in tears.
Her voice shattered the silence in the room.
“I told
you James. He would never
forgive me and he has a
right not to. I was so callous
and wicked to him”, she
said obviously to Mr.
Branson as tears rolled
down her cheeks.
Everyone started
murmuring one thing or
the other while I wondered
what Richard would be
doing inside the room.
“I
should leave now”, my
mother-in-law said and
made to leave but Richard’s
dad stopped her.
“Wait, let me talk to him
first”, he said.
I startled, “No… I mean…
why don’t you allow me do
the talking sir, although I
cannot promise anything
for now”, I said
immediately.
Everyone in the room
nodded in agreement and I
was instantly grateful that
we did not include
strangers in the ceremony.
For the very first time,
Richard’s mum looked at
me and said, “You must be
his wife. You are very pretty
and I am sorry for
disrupting your party.
Please forgive me”. Her
foreign assent was
undeniable. I nodded and
made for the room.
**********
**********
“Don’t you think this skirt is
too short Oyin”, Ronke
asked her friend.
Oyinade smiled
mischievously.
“Nope, I
don’t think so. Besides, you
know my ultimate goal,
don’t you? A hot body like
mine and sexy clothes
would help me achieve my
aim”.
Ronke rolled her eyes in
exasperation. “I know your
plans as much as you do
girl and I am with you all
the way. You know my
popular slogan says, ‘when
you see what you want, go
for it doing everything you
can to get it’. But my friend,
you have to apply common
sense. You have just been
given the job so it would be
risky and out of place for
you to get a query on your
first day at work. You
worked very hard to get
this job, you cannot throw
everything away by being
overzealous”, Ronke said.
“You have to carry out this
plan slowly, portraying the
highest level of innocence
you can. You should be coy
and sneaky, slow and
steady; with time you
would get rid of the
hindrance and be in his
arms”. She finished.
Oyinade assimilated
everything she heard and
smiled.
“You are a clever
snake babe. I would make
you my chief adviser on this
life project so you have to
be with me all the way”, she
said dropping the skirt on
the bed.
She picked her employment
letter for the umpteenth
time and whispered to
herself.
“You would be mine
very soon. All mine”.
**********
**********
I stepped into the room and
met Richard roaming from
one end of the room to the
other. He was trying as
much as he could to release
his anger but it was not
working. He noticed my
entrance but continued
pacing.
“Can you imagine? She
actually had the guts to
show her face here like she
has the rights to”, he said
still pacing.
I sat down at the edge of
the bed and looked at him.
“Did you see her face? She
looked so sure of herself.
What did she think? That I
would jump into her arms,
welcome her and treat her
like she is the most
precious person on earth?
She must be delusional”. He
continued not even waiting
for a reply to his previous
questions; not like there
could be any answer
though. When I did not say
anything, he stopped and
stared at me. “Would you
not say something?”
I sighed, stood up, took his
hands and pulled him with
me to the bed. He sat down
at the edge of the bed and I
knelt behind him on the
bed, placed my hands on
his shoulders and gently
massaged them.
“Massage is not what I n…”
“Shhhh…” I said silencing
him and continued my
massage. Gently, I felt the
anger and tension ease out
of him and he started
relaxing.
“I need you to
calm down and relax honey.
Today ought to be a happy
day for us, remember? I am
just seeing your mother for
the first time and it means
something to me”, I said as
I continued my therapy.
“She is not my mother” he
said calmly.
I left his shoulders, went
round him and went to seat
on his laps.
“Honey,
whether you like it or not,
you have her blood flowing
in your veins. Do you know
what it was like to find out
that my father never
wanted me? He wanted me
to be flushed out. I know it
hurts but please forgive her.
Keeping this grudge in you
would hurt you terribly
everyday but releasing it
and forgiving her would
make you happy. Accept it.
Deep down in your heart,
you know you need your
biological mother”, I said as
softly as I could.
He shook his head,
“no, I
don’t need her. I have you
to be my mother, wife,
sister and everything”.
I nodded. “Yes, but you
need her. Please, forgive
her”, I said going down on
my knees. He tried to pull
me up but I did not get up.
“Yes?” I asked with a faint
smile.
He stared at me, shaking his
head unbelievably.
“What
have you done to me?
Alright, would you get up
now?” he said and pulled
me into his arms.
He kissed my forehead and
hugged me. “I love you
heart, even though you are
naughty”, he said with a
smile.
I smiled back, “well, I am
happy she is your mother if
not you would not have
eyes as beautiful as this”.
He scoffed, “I could easily
charm you with the
generally possessed black
eyes, you know?”
“You don’t have to charm
me; you were made with
very potent charm”.
He laughed.
“Alright baby, lets go and
get this over with” he said
and we both went back to
the sitting room. On getting
there, Richard’s mum was
nowhere to be found.
“She just left, we could not
stop her” Prisca explained.
Richard looked at me. “Do
you see? She is not here.
She is no longer around
and she never was”. He said
and stormed out of the
house.
To be continued Tomorrow morning
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